Confronting The Flame
by Outre
Summary: Roy has disappeared on a 'mission' and Jen is left to cover for him. But what happens when people come looking for him and kidnap her instead? Re-do of 'Confronting the Flame' RoyXOC


**Confronting the Flame 2**

"Great, just great." I muttered to myself as I walked home from HQ. It had been dark for at least two hours, and getting cold beyond the point of funny. At least three weeks have passed since Roy left on his 'secret mission', and I being the only one that was there at the time of his departure was stuck with the job of pretending to be him until he decided to return. So of course, my once long purple hair has been cut and colored to match Roy's hair, and if I hadn't been so against it I might have laughed at how much that made me look like Roy. Though that is really an insult to one of us. Just that thought kept me in a bad mood, which was somewhat lucky; otherwise I wouldn't have been able to continuously have a sarcastic comment for everything. The avoiding paper work part of this job was easy of course, though still wasn't a good idea, large piles of paper work have been known to be dangerous.

I turned the second last corner to my house, when I felt as if there was someone watching me. I stopped for a moment, slowly scanning the area, studying the darker places along the road. This wasn't the first time I had felt like I was being watched, during the last week I had noticed it more and more. Maybe I was just getting paranoid, not being able to know what Roy is doing, or even why he isn't here. Hopefully it was just my imagination. I started walking again, moving that little bit faster, and almost making it to the next corner before something hit me from behind. It knocked me to the ground, and I quickly got up again, ready to defend myself when the next blow came. That was when I realized that I didn't have Roy's gloves on; I couldn't use alchemy against my attacker without them that would most definitely destroy my 'cover'.

Spinning to face the direction that I had been attacked from, I placed a hand into my pocket to find one of the gloves I was meant to be wearing. I put it on and waited for an enemy to show itself, but before I could see anyone, something else hit me from behind, harder this time, knocking me to the ground with enough force that when my head hit against it, I was knocked out. As things faded around me I heard footsteps of the people moving towards me. And a voice.

"Tell the boss! We've got the Flame!"

* * *

I peeled my eyes open, the grogginess I felt trying to hold them together. I barely processed the thought that I would not be where I expected to be, when my eyes finally opened. The room wasn't familiar, though it was just blurred edges due to the darkness. Panic started my heart racing, adrenaline kicking in allowing me to notice and remember more details than would be normal.

"Well, well, well. Look who has finally decided to join us. The great Flame alchemist himself, Mustang." A male voice said roughly, spiting the last word. He moved closer to me, and I moved to avoid him, but that was when I noticed that I had been tied to a chair. I pulled against the bounds, willing them to be weak enough for me to escape.

"There is no point struggling Flame Alchemist, You will not escape here alive." Another voice, they must have me surrounded. How many of them could there be, maybe I'd be able to distract them long enough to escape, but I'd have to find a way out of these bounds first. I rubbed my fingers against the palm of my hand, _Damn_, the glove was gone, this time I was in big trouble and there was no hope for someone to find me.

"What do you want?" I asked, making my voice deeper and rougher, there was no point in blowing my cover now, my best case scenario for that would be death. Death was probably the only option here any way, once they figured out that I either didn't have the information that they wanted, or that I wasn't going to give it up they were most likely going to kill me. If I gave up the act and told them that I wasn't really Roy, then that had two options; death, or they'll use me to drag the others into this, drag Roy into this and then they'd probably kill me anyway when they got what they wanted.

"Now, now, Mustang, you're not thinking of playing the dumb game with me are you? I'm not a patient person, and you have something we want. You will give it to us too, whether that be now... or later." The first man spoke again, the tone he used had something underneath it, something murderous. He probably had experience in getting information from people, through any means.

"We?" Yes, another dumb question. I wasn't going to come out of this one no matter what I said, but I wasn't going to make any thing easy for 'them'. Then a solid object collided with the side of my face, pushing me sideways, pulling against the restraining ropes. The force of the blow knocked my head to the side, moving it out of the way of the object, which was most likely a fist. I could feel the blood pool into my mouth, the warm coppery taste of it over taking my senses. I spat the blood off to my side, hoping that it would stain something.

"You know exactly who **we** are! You have something that belongs to us, and we want it back! So you better stop playing games, if you ever want to get out of here alive." The voice threatened, venom dripping from his voice.

"Ha! Don't make empty threats; we both know that you're going to kill me no matter what happens." I scoffed at him, this time a blow was sent to my stomach. I doubled over as far as the restraining ropes would let me, groaned as more blood pooled into my mouth, and then leaned back, aiming to spit the blood at where I believed the attacker to be.

* * *

I got back to the office sooner than I thought I would have, it had felt like an extremely long trip to get where I was going, especially knowing that I had left Jen to stand in my place in the military. She was a great person, strong and more than capable to look after herself, but I worried that I had put her into a position that even she wouldn't be able to pull herself out of. I went past Jen's house on my way to the office under the pretense that I was there to make sure that she knew that she didn't have to pretend to be me any more, but when I got there nobody answered the door. It was strange, maybe she wasn't home yet? I noticed something glint above the door, in the light of a passing car. A key? I pulled it down and used it to open the door.

"Jen? Jen are you here?" I called out as I walked into the entrance way of the house. There were no signs that anyone was here, no boots left at the door, no lights turned on. I called out to Jen once more, hoping that she was home and okay. When there was no answer, I worried, turning around and walking back out the door. I had to find where Jen was, if anything had happened to her because was me then I'll… I don't know what I'll do.

* * *

"Quit stalling Flame Alchemist. Nobody is looking for you; they don't even know you're gone. They won't know you're gone until they find your rotting corpse. So why don't you make things easier for everyone and just tell us what we want to know?" This guy just wouldn't give up, and I could see why they put him in charge of this. He could make someone hurt, but still avoid any life-threatening damage. Even now, as just about every inch of flesh that I had burned and screamed in pain, I didn't feel like my life was ebbing away from me. Though I wasn't going to make that a reason for anything, he could kill me if he wanted to; I was helpless to defend myself now even if I wasn't tied up.

"It's better that then let you have what you want." I spat, I had no hope of fighting back, only the hope that I could hold off the end for long enough. Maybe if I could do that, then there would be enough evidence for the others to follow, to find these... monsters. If I have to use every drop of my blood to do it, then so be it.

"What are you holding on to, Flame Alchemist? Do you like the pain? Do you wish for death?" It was a rhetorical question, or at least the last part was, I had no choice no wish in this situation, he was going to cause me as much pain as he could before killing me.

* * *

It was hard to keep my emotions in check, even more so when I was scanning the streets as I walked, looking for any sign of Jen, anything that will tell me that she is okay. I followed the path that I knew she normally took home from the office, hopefully I will find her here, maybe she had sat down for a break, having been exhausted from a long day at work. She'd be on foot defiantly; she wouldn't have taken a vehicle for this distance or any distance probably.

I made it all the way to the military headquarters, not seeing her once the whole way there. Was she still in the office? Or had she taken a different way home? I almost ran up the stairs and down the halls towards the office, she had to be there, where else could she be at this time of the night if not at home? My hand reached for the door handle automatically as I made it to my office, the door getting thrown open rather than being opened normally like I had intended.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you had gone home, did you forget something?" Riza asked, looking up at me from the paper work that littered her desk. I stopped for a moment, frozen as my brain processed what she had said. Jen had gone home. Jen had gone home?

"Jen already left? But that means…" Riza raised an eyebrow at me. "Jen isn't at home, I just came from there. Riza, Jen has gone missing."

* * *

I had been having a good dream when the phone started to ring, or at least that was how it felt as I pulled myself out of bed and towards the phone. Still fighting the threads of sleep I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sorry to wake you Havoc," Hawkeye's voice came through the phone, she sounded like she was in a rush. Something pretty serious must be happening for her to sound like that. "But we have a situation down here."

"What's the problem?" I heard her sigh over the phone, hesitating for a moment before speaking again.

"Jennifer's disappeared."

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" This wasn't good, Jen had disappeared before, and what it had taken to get her back – what it had cost her- was something I couldn't let happen to my sister again.

"It's believed to be a kidnapping at the moment-"

"I'll be right over!" I slammed down the phone before she could respond, pulled on the first clothes I could find, and tore off out the door.

* * *

"Last chance, Flame alchemist. You can either give us the information willingly now... or I can start beating it out of you."

"You don't scare me," I said, turning my head away from where I thought he was standing, trying not to wince in pain as I found new places on my body that hurt. "Do your worse." There was a snicker, not from the man that had spoken. A cool blade touched against my throat threateningly, and a hand grabbed my face forcing me to look up at my capturer. He was an ugly man, large muscles bulging even on his face.

"A smart person would be scared by now." His breath touched my face, disgusting, it smelt like rotting organic material. "We have so many worse things that we can do to you."

* * *

As soon as the search party was put together we headed out to find Jen. My brain didn't feel like it was working at full speed to begin with, but once we got out into the cold night air, it switched onto high gear.

The group spit up, and searched the number of different ways Jen could have gone after leaving the Head Quarters. I glanced at my watch; she could have been anywhere by now. She could been dead of all I know.

"Mustang, sir."

She could be dead because of me.

"Mustang, sir!"

Why did I put her into this kind of trouble? It'll be my fault that she dies, or goes back to one of those hell holes she got stuck in last time.

"Colonel Mustang?" Somebody placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at the soldier. "Sir, we've found something."

"What is it?"

"Well, sir... There appears to have been a struggle, and there is some... blood on the side of the road. I'm sorry, sir, but it looks like they took her."

* * *

"What are you waiting for, Flame Alchemist? Still thinking someone will save you?" Time moved strangely as I sat tied to this chair, or maybe it stopped moving all together. Would the others be able to find me then? Or will I just disappear from existence? _No!_ I thought, mentally hitting myself, now was not the time to be thinking like that. The last time I disappeared from existence has not stopped haunting me yet, it was too soon for it to happen again. I couldn't do that, I refuse to go back there, there had to be something I could do to stop it from happening again.

The man's fist connected with my stomach again, and I whimpered as dark thoughts of being locked away filled my mind. Another blow connected with my stomach, and then another with my jaw, and then something sharp stabbed into my thigh. A low scream ripped out my throat as the pain shoot through me and the warmth of fresh blood spread from the wound.

"Are you ready to talk?" The voice that haunted me asked; it was always asking questions.

"I'll talk. I'll talk." The words came out like whimpers, and I almost started crying at how pathetic I sounded. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Name and Rank."

"Jennifer Havoc. Major." A fist connected with my jaw and I could have sworn I heard the sickening sound of bone breaking.

"Don't lie to us." The threatening voice was so close now, the warmth of their breath brushing against my skin.

"I'm not lying! I'm not lying, I swear! I don't know where Mustang went. He asked me to cover for him while he was gone, nobody else knew. Th-three weeks he's been gone now. Please don't hurt me, I don't know anything else." Sobs rattled in my chest, and I leaned forward against the bounds holding me back, tears flowing freely from my eyes.

_I don't want to go back there._

Something exploded inside the building.

_Please don't send me back there._

That explosion sounded like it came from the next room.

_Please don't send me back!_

Flames exploded to life around me, lighting the room and burning the others alive. I screamed and recoiled from the flames as best I could. As I blinked, the flames died off, and the sound of heavy boots against the floor could be heard. Tears continued to flow from my eyes as I gasped from breath, not bothering to pull against the ropes tying me in place.

"Jen?" A voice asked as hands softly grasped my arms. "Jen, are you alright? Jen? Say something, please tell me you're alright."

"Please don't send me back there. I don't want to go back," I whispered.

* * *

"I don't want to go back. Please don't send me back there." She kept whispering the words, monotonous as if even the will to say those words was broken. I took a moment to actually check her over for injuries; blood had stained her lips, and still flowed from her mouth and nose. Her jaw was badly bruised, her breathing was shallow as if the simple movement caused her pain, and... and a knife pierced straight through the thigh muscle of her left leg pooling blood around it.

"Oh Jen, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone to face this." I apologized, placing a hand on the knife and pulling it from her leg. She screamed at the pain and I felt like I had been stabbed. It was really my fault this had happened, that she was tortured by these people.

Carefully I cut the ropes holding her, and lifted her up into my arms as she continued to beg me to not send her back 'there'. I didn't know exactly where 'there' was but I knew enough to know that it was a place that I would never wish on anyone.

"Shh, Jen, it's okay. You're safe, nobody's going to be taking you back to that place."

* * *

I felt numb as the medic examined and cleaned my wounds while I lay on the stretcher in the back of a medical vehicle. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Roy pacing back and forth nearby, the distance between us felt so great that if I'd had the energy I would have called him over. Jean placed a hand on my shoulder as I started to shiver, and looked over at the medic.

"She'll be okay, won't she doc?" He asked as the last stitch pulled close the knife wound in my leg.

"The physical wounds will heal in a few days, but... I cannot say about the others." A bandage wrapped around my leg now, covering the wound. "She may go home now, Colonel. Her wounds are not so bad as to require a trip to the hospital."

I looked over and saw that Roy was no longer pacing, instead standing in front of the open door to the vehicle. He had the look of complete worry and guilt on his face, his eyes pausing on my bruised jaw line and bandaged hands, arms, and leg. I opened my mouth to say something as Jean slid his arm under my back, bumping against one of my cracked ribs, and instead I clamped my lips closed muffling any sound I could make towards the pain.

"Sorry, Jen," he whispered, sliding his other arm under my knees and lifting me up. Immediately my hand grasped the front of his shirt, battling the need to feel safe against the pain of injuries. Feeling safe in my brother's arms, exhaustion finally started to pull me towards sleep, my eyelids fluttering closed.

"I'll make sure she gets home safely, Jean. It's the least I can do for getting her into this mess."

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." Suddenly I moved from one pair of arms to another, my hand pulled from my brother's shirt.

"No. No. I don't want to. Don't take me back. Don't take me there." I said struggling against the new pair of arms, tears gathering in my closed eyes. A hand gently clasped mine and I relaxed slightly.

"Its okay, Jen. It's just Roy; he's going to take you home." My hand was released, and I could hear footsteps nearby. In my half sleep state I wondered what was happening, not opening my eyes even when I felt myself placed on a firm cushioned seat, or heard the click of a door closing.

* * *

Jen fell asleep almost as soon as I placed her in the car, her black cropped hair falling across her face. I brushed it away, trying my best to ignore the reason it had been dyed and cut in the first place, or why she was wearing clothes that hid her beautifully feminine body. No, now wasn't the time to be thinking those kinds of thoughts about her. Shaking the thought from my head, I slid in onto the seat next to her and pulled the door closed, starting the engine of the car.

During the ride back to her place, Jen shifted in her sleep leaning against my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile, I didn't want to wake her when she looked so comfortable. Of course, we got to her place too soon, and I had to wake her.

* * *

The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my side, the voice demanding I got up. My eyes snapped open, and I found myself in a black cell, with little to no light shining in. A terrified sound escaped my throat as I backed up against the far wall. I was back there, but... how? I gasped as the room suddenly filled with flames, blocking off any exits, licking at my body with such white hot heat I didn't know whether it was really hot or cold.

"Jen? Jen?" The voice echoed in the room, over the noise of the flames. Something grabbed my shoulder and I started to scream as it shook me. "Jen? Jen wake up."

Everything shifted to blackness for a moment, before my eyes opened for real this time, seeing Roy's worried face looking down at me. Tears flooded my eyes as I buried my face in his chest. His hand gently rubbed my back as I cried into his shirt.

"What happened to you, Jen? Who were those kidnappers?"

"Th-they thought I was you. They... they wanted information. I didn't know... then... then..." I sobbed. "I wasn't strong enough... I didn't want to go back there... told them everything."

"Shh. Shh, Jen, it's okay. They're gone; they won't be troubling any one anymore."


End file.
